Topic: Columbia's profit margin

[kinderscenen]

While reading an article on the making of You Nazty Spy, the author mentioned that it cost (roughly) $18,000 to make. I'm not sure if that was with everyone's salary thrown in (I doubt it), so let's say the cost was around $30,000--I'll be really generous.  Since the shorts weren't shown in all possble markets, that obviously had an effect on the box office, but obviously, they were playing in most of the country.  Seeing as they were not regular features, but part of the package of short subjects, cartoon, newsreels, etc., how was their success measured?  By the number of theatre operators who rented the films or what?

I've always been interested in knowing because I remember Moe mentioning in his autobiography that a theatre owner was given a b-movie instead of a Stooges short.  Why the studio would want to undermine its own profits like that is beyond me.

[BeAStooge]

... I remember Moe mentioning in his autobiography that a theatre owner was given a b-movie instead of a Stooges short.

Not "instead of," in addition.

Columbia used the popularity of the shorts to book their B-features. Unlike MGM, Warner, Fox, RKO and Paramount, Columbia didn't own its own theaters. It had to rely on aggressive sales tactics to sell its low-budget features...

"We can lease a print of THEY STOOGE TO CONGA to you, but it will be packaged with our latest CRIME DOCTOR installment."

[kinderscenen]

Ah, I should've known--while I won't say it's a case of Moe's selective memory, I always thought it was odd that a company would literally screw themselves over.  Thanks!